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Studying his face, I looked for any kind of connection I could come up with to bond in some way with the guy. I tried to remember what I’d read in his personnel file before he arrived in Wisper. He was only five or six years older than me, but as I studied him, I saw a long lifetime in his eyes. I got the feeling it hadn’t been an easy one.
When all else failed, I gave him the “full Abey experience.” A smile and a laugh. Maybe it was a self-preservation thing, and I used it when things felt awkward and uncomfortable, but that might mean it’d work with Dan. “You know, I heard once that ‘fine’ stands for freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional.”
He didn’t say anything, and I had to work to resist the urge to cross my eyes and groan out loud. The guy was something else.
He should’ve learned by now that you had to find the fun where you could in this job, ’cause sometimes it got hard. It could be heartbreak and hard shit every day, and we needed the laughter and crack-ups for when it was. At least, I did.
Leaning back in my chair, I figured it was time to go the direct and earnest route with him. I rested my elbows on my desk and steepled my fingers together. “Dan, what do you want from this job? I mean, what do you hope will come of it?” All of a sudden, I felt downright sheriff-y.
“I’d like to be the sheriff someday. This job is my first step in that direction.”
Hm. Okay. I could work with that.
“Good. That’s a great goal. But the problem is, you got some big shoes to fill. Sheriff Michaels does a damn good job, but it’s not just a title. He works hard every day to know the people he’s workin’ for. The people who elected him. Those same people will have a choice to make someday when it’s your name on the ballot. Don’t you think you might use this time to get to know them? To help them, be kind to them, and learn what their lives are like? If you show an interest, you might just win ’em over before you ever even need their votes.”
I could see the wheels turning in his head.
“I s’pose you’re right, ma’am.”
“Okay. Good.” I nodded, happy to at least be having a conversation with him, one in which he participated. “Glad we agree. First things first, though. Every time you call me ma’am, I wanna throat punch you. It’s not the word itself, it’s the way you say it. So let’s unpack that. Do you have a problem with women in positions of power? Does it piss you off that I’m your boss? Is that what I’m detectin’”—I waved my hand in the direction of his scowl—“by that look on your face?”
“No.” He shook his head quickly. “Not at all, m—” He stopped mid-sentence, unsure what to call me if he couldn’t call me ma’am.
Lifting my hand off the desk, I splayed my fingers wide in frustration, resisting the urge to throttle him. “My name is Abey! Please just call me Abey.”
“Abey,” he said, wincing a little, possibly realizing he’d just narrowly avoided being jaw-socked by a girl. “No, Abey, I don’t have a problem with a woman as my boss. I’m sorry I haven’t been very personable. I don’t talk about myself often. It’s not somethin’ I usually do. It’s just not…” He thought about what he wanted to say, lips pursing to the side. “I guess it’s just not easy for me to open up. I was in the military a long time, and before that, I was a military brat. We moved a lot. Never stayed in one place long enough to get to know people”
Aaand now we were getting somewhere.
“I understand completely. No need to apologize. And you’re in luck. You just landed yourself in the friendliest place on the planet. This town and the surrounding areas are filled with some of the kindest, most helpful and lovin’ people in the world. If you can find it within yourself to open up to ’em just a little bit, they’ll welcome you into the fold. They’ll come when you call, and when it’s time, they’ll vote for you.”
He actually smiled. It looked kind of weird on his face.
But I went on. “I don’t have plans to take over the sheriff’s office officially. At least not right now. Carey’s still in his prime. But maybe in the future. Maybe not. I dunno, but if I do decide to run, you’ll be a formidable opponent. But first, you’re gonna have to prove you’re worthy. Think you can do it?”
He stood, fumbling quickly to catch his hat and glasses before they hit the floor. “Yeah. Yeah, Abey, I know I can.”
I stood, too, and held out my hand for a shake. He took it and grasped it tight.
“Good. You can start by comin’ with me on some of the calls on this list if you don’t have plans this mornin’?” I handed him the call printout.
“I’m happy to come along,” he said.
“One of the things we do here is work with some of the elderly residents who live out in the sticks. We do small jobs for ’em when they can’t do it for themselves anymore. We check in, make sure they have what they need. I think that’s a good place for you to start. I’ll go with you this first time to make introductions, and you can start to get to know the area and its people and history better.”
He looked over the list. “Okay.”
“Alright then. That’s step one. By the way, you like pie?”
“Yes, m—” He caught himself before he called me ma’am again and looked up from the paper in his hands. Seriously, as soon as the word began to spill out of his mouth, my hand balled into a fist, and my eyes inevitably found their way to his Adam’s apple. “Yeah, Abey, I love pie.”
“Good,” I said, relaxing, “’cause you’re gonna get a lot of it. Just don’t let it go to your waistband. Trust me. It’s hard to run down perps with too much pie under your belt.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ABEY
Dan proved to be a natural when he loosened up just a smidge.
